Cliff Alexander keeps motoring
KANSAS 75, TEXAS 62
Austin, Texas ? Cliff Alexander has been trying to play with an accelerated “motor” since being benched the last 14 minutes of the Iowa State game on Jan. 17.
“I ran the floor a lot today. Brannen Greene and Devonté Graham looked at me, passed to me a couple times when I was running the floor,” the 6-foot-8 Chicago freshman said after scoring 15 points and grabbing nine rebounds while logging 27 minutes in KU’s 75-62 win over Texas on Saturday at Frank Erwin Center.
Alexander hit six of 11 shots despite playing with a bruised sternum that was also hit at shoot-around before the game.
“We worked the middle (of UT zone). Coach told us, ‘Get the ball to the middle. It’s open every time.’ We got easy shots,” Alexander said of KU’s big men.
Of UT freshman Myles Turner, who scored eight points and grabbed eight boards in 27 minutes, Alexander said: “He is kind of thin down low. He can work down there. He’s just kind of thin, that’s all,” the 240-pound Alexander said of the 240-pound Turner. “He has a nice game.. He can shoot the three, face-up,” Alexander added of Turner, who was 0-for-3 from three on a day UT hit three of 18 threes.
“We were playing the post before they could get comfortable in the post,” Alexander said of big man strategy.
More news and notes from Kansas at Texas
- Kansas bests Texas in near flawless road victory
- Column: Dead-eye shooter Brannen Greene confidently buries Longhorns
- Play of the year? Traylor’s hustle draws high praises
- Cliff Alexander keeps motoring
- Notebook: Injury forced Greene to miss practices before big day at Texas
- Barnes: Freshman Turner better off close to hoop
- Keegan Ratings: Determined Cliff Alexander leads KU off the bench at UT